His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister today chaired the 302nd meeting of the Executive Committee.

During the meeting, His Royal Highness called for a united response to the serious challenge presented by the Coronavirus (COVID-19).

HRH the Crown Prince stressed that multilateral cooperation across borders and collaboration between national institutions is critical in order to lay the foundations for controlling the spread of COVID-19 but added that coordination must go further than government.

In this regard, His Royal Highness noted that vigilant participation from the general public and all national constituents will be vital to check the spread of the virus.

HRH the Crown Prince encouraged the whole Bahraini community to come together and work as a team by sharing preventative WHO-approved guidance and respecting precautionary actions.

Later, HE Lieutenant General Shaikh Mohamed bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, Chairman of the Supreme Council for Health, and Chairman of the National Task Force for Combating the Coronavirus (COVID-19) informed the committee of the preventative measures the Kingdom is already taking in response to COVID-19, noting that a comprehensive medical protocol based on guidelines set out by the Gulf Health Council (GHG) and the World Health Organization (WHO) has been established and adopted.

HE added that these measures include screening of all passengers arriving in the Kingdom by trained medical professionals and, should symptoms of COVID-19 be detected, isolation of patients for further treatment and analysis. If laboratory tests indicate that patients are not suffering from COVID-19, they are allowed to return home but remain under close supervision from medical professionals for 14 days. If COVID-19 is detected, patients are quarantined and cared for by a dedicated and highly trained medical team.

HE noted that the Kingdom has also begun a programme of public health announcements that encourage regular hand washing with soap, water or sterile alcohol, and avoidance of close contact with people experiencing cold symptoms among other measures.